1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to building entrance protectors for telecommunication lines. More particularly, the present invention relates to the connector structure contained within the building entrance protector that connects outside plant wiring to customer premises equipment.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Building entrance protector (BEP) is the name used in the art of telephone equipment to describe the junction box where telephone lines from outside plant wiring are joined to customer premises equipment. In the most common application, the BEP is the place where the telephone lines from a telephone pole enter a building and are joined to the telephone system within that building. Within the BEP there is an input wire termination device that receives the telephone lines contained within the outside plant wiring. Also contained within the BEP is an output wire termination device that receives the telephone lines required for the customer premises equipment. Located in between the input wire termination device and the output wire termination device are fusible links. The fusible links are typically 26 gauge copper wire, which is thinner than the gauge of either the outside plant wiring or the customer premises equipment.
The purpose of the fusible links is to prevent power surges from passing through the BEP that can damage equipment located within the building or melt any wire on the customer side of the BEP. Since telephone lines are typically strung on the same poles as power lines, a break in a power line that subsequently contacts a telephone line, can result in a large surge of power passing through the telephone lines into a building. Similarly, lightning strikes can result large surges of power pass in through telephone lines into a building. The purpose of the BEP is to ensure that any such power surge is stopped at the point of the BEP and is prevented from traveling into the building where it can cause damage to equipment and possibly a fire.
Referring to FIG. 1, a schematic is shown illustrating a common application of BEPs 10 in a building 12. Commonly, a building 12 may have more telephone lines 14 than are capable of being connected to a single BEP 10. Consequently, it is common for a building 12 to utilize a series of BEPs 10. The outside plant wiring 16 enters a building 12 and is directed into a first BEP 10. The first BEP 10 is then used to connect some telephone lines contained within the outside plant wiring 16 to some of the customer premises equipment 18. Any telephone lines contained within the outside plant wiring 16 that are not utilized in the first BEP 10 are passed through the first BEP to a second BEP. Similarly, any telephone lines contained within the outside plant wiring 16 that are not utilized in the second BEP are passed through the second BEP to subsequent BEPs. The number of BEPs 10 used is dependent upon the number of telephone lines supplied by the outside plant wiring 16 and the needs of the customer premises equipment.
Referring to FIG. 2, it can be seen that as the outside plant wiring passes 16 into a BEP 10, the outside plant wiring 16 passes into a sealed, fire-resistant splice chamber 20. Within the splice chamber 20, some of the telephone wires 22 contained within the outside plant wiring 16 are joined to a grouping of fusible links 24. Each set of the fusible links 24 leads to a different surge protector port 26 on a surge protector panel 28. The different surge protector ports 26 are coupled an output wire termination device 30. The customer premises equipment 18 (FIG. 1) connects to the output wire termination device 30, thereby completing the link between the outside plant wiring 16 and the customer premises equipment 18 (FIG. 1).
The fusible links 24 connect to the telephone lines 22 of the outside plant wiring 16 in a number of different ways. Individual wires can be separately joined. However, such connections are highly labor intensive and time consuming. The preferred interconnection mechanism 32 is a terminal array connector 34, such as the model S 66 M connector manufactured by the Siemens Company. With such terminal array connectors 34, the fusible links 24 are connected to the terminal leads on the bottom of the terminal array connector 34 and the telephone wires 22 from the outside plant wiring 16 are connected to the terminal leads on the top of the terminal array connector 34.
All connections between the outside plant wiring 16 and the fusible links 24 are performed within the confines of the splice chamber 20. As a result, any interconnection mechanism 32 used to join the fusible links 24 to the outside plant wiring 16 must also be contained within the splice chamber 20. As a terminal array connector 34 is mounted within the splice chamber 20, there is often an interference between the body of the terminal array connector 34 and the segment of the outside plant wiring 16 that passes through the splice chamber 20 to another BEP. The outside plant wiring 16 that passes through the BEP 10 must be bent around or over the terminal array connector 34. As a result, it is not uncommon for the passing wires of the outside plant wiring 16 to become pinched by the terminal array connector 34 or chafe against the terminal array connector 34. This often causes different telephone lines to either break or short.
Additionally, since the passing wires of the outside plant wiring 16 and the terminal array connector 34 are held at close quarters within the splice chamber 20, when a fusible link 24 does melt, the heat from that melting may also melt some of the passing wires of the outside plant wiring 16. Consequently, a melted fusible link 24 in one BEP may damage a wire that terminates in a different BEP. This makes troubleshooting difficult for repair technicians.
A need therefore exists in the art for a BEP where the interconnection between outside plant wiring and the fusible links can be kept safely away from the wires of the outside plant wiring that pass through that BEP to subsequent BEPs.